HOW WOULD DEVIN'S BEHAVIOR BE ANY DIFFERENT...:

Nunes' opening statement, delivered just moments earlier, appeared unprepared for Sondland's revelations.

Nunes began by comparing the Democrats' impeachment push to former special counsel Bob Mueller's probe, listing off numerous charges that although he dismissed at false were actually proven true.

"Trump had a diabolical plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow," he said. (True.) "Trump changed the Republican National Committee platform to hurt Ukraine and benefit Russia," he added. (True.) "Trump's son-in-law lied about his Russian contacts while obtaining his security clearance," he continued. (True.)

"It's a long list of false charges, and that's merely a partial list," Nunes declared after reading the largely corroborated list.

Nunes then went on to claim that Democrats were again pushing false charges in the Ukraine case.

"When the Democrats can't get any traction for their allegations of a quid pro quo, they move the goalposts and accuse the president of extortion, then bribery, and as a last resort, obstructing justice," Nunes said, moments before Sondland explicitly described a "quid pro quo."

"In closing, the Democrats fake outrage that President Trump used his own channel to communicate with Ukraine," Nunes continued. "I'll remind them that our first president, George Washington, directed his own diplomatic channels to secure a treaty with Great Britain. If my Democratic colleagues were around in 1794, they'd want to impeach him, too."

Moments later, Sondland blew up the entire narrative of the top Republican  on the panel.

"Secretary Perry, Ambassador Volker and I worked with Mr. Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters at the express direction of the President of the United States," Sondland said. "We did not want to work with Mr. Giuliani . . . We all understood that if we refused to work with Mr. Giuliani, we would lose an important opportunity to cement relations between the United States and Ukraine. So we followed the president's orders."

"As I previously testified, if I had known of all of Mr. Giuliani's dealings or of his associations with individuals now under criminal indictment, I would not have acquiesced to his participation," Sondland added. "I know that members of this committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a 'quid pro quo?' As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is 'yes.'"

At one point in his statement, Nunes warned Sondland that he was about to be "smeared," apparently referring to Democrats. After Sondland's opening statement, many suggested that Nunes' prediction was misdirected.

"It's like Nunes hasn't read Sondland testimony," wrote former Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. "He should have said 'Amb Sondland you will be smeared . . . by the Republicans on this committee and the [White House].'"

Tweet   @brothersjudd